Chapter 15

The Emperor Wears No =
Clothes

By Jack Herer

The Official StoryDebunking =
=E2=80=9CGutter=20
Science=E2=80=9D

After 15 days of taking testimony and more than a year=E2=80=99s =
legal deliberation,=20
DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young formally urged the DEA to =
allow=20
doctors to prescribe marijuana. In a September 1988 judgment, he ruled: =
=E2=80=9CThe=20
evidence in this record clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted =
as=20
capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, =
and doing=20
so with safety under medical supervision . . . It would be unreasonable, =
arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those=20
sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in =
this=20
record. In strict medical terms, marijuana is far safer than many foods =
we=20
commonly consume marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest=20
therapeutically active substances known to man.=E2=80=9D

Yet former DEA Administrator John Lawn, his successor, Robert Bonner, =
and=20
current DEA Administrator John Constantine =E2=80=93 non-doctors all! =
=E2=80=93 have refused to=20
comply and have continued to deprive persons of medical cannabis, =
according to=20
their own personal discretion.

Wasting Time, Wasting =
Lives

More than 100 years have passed since the 1894 British Raj commission =
study=20
of hashish smokers in India reported cannabis use was harmless and even =
helpful.=20
Numerous studies since have all agreed: The most prominent being Siler,=20
LaGuardia, Nixon=E2=80=99s Shafer Commission, Canada=E2=80=99s LeDain =
Commission, and the=20
California Research Advisory Commission.

Concurrently, American presidents have praised hemp, the USDA amassed =
volumes=20
of data showing its value as a natural resource, and in 1942 the =
Roosevelt=20
administration even made Hemp for Victory, a film glorifying our =
patriotic hemp=20
farmers. That same year, Germany produced The Humorous Hemp Primer, a =
comic=20
book, written in rhyme, extolling hemp=E2=80=99s virtues. (See appendix =
I of the paper=20
version of this book.)

Yet even the humane use of hemp for medicine is now denied. Asked in =
late=20
1989 about the DEA=E2=80=99s failure to implement his decision quoted =
above, Judge Young=20
responded that administrator John Lawn was being given time to =
comply.

More than a year after that ruling, Lawn officially refused to =
reschedule=20
cannabis, again classing it as a Schedule I =E2=80=9Cdangerous=E2=80=9D =
drug that is not even=20
allowed to be used as medicine.

Decrying this needless suffering of helpless Americans, the National=20
Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the Family Council on =
Drug=20
Awareness quickly demanded Lawn=E2=80=99s resignation. His successors, =
Bonner and now=20
Constantine, retain the same policy.

What hypocrisy allows public officials to scoff at the facts and deny =
the=20
truth? How do they rationalize their atrocities? How? They invent their =
own=20
experts.

* National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, =
Drug=20
Enforcement Agency, Drug Abuse Resistance Education, Partnership for a =
Drug Free=20
America. All subsequent researchers found Heath=E2=80=99s marijuana =
findings to be of no=20
value, because carbon monoxide poisoning and other factors were totally =
left=20
out.

When U.S. government sponsored research prior to 1976 indicated that =
cannabis=20
was harmless or beneficial, the methodology of how each study was done =
was=20
always presented in detail in the reports; e.g., read The Therapeutic =
Potential=20
of Marijuana (1976) and you will see exactly what the methodology of =
each=20
medical study was.

However, when our government bureaucrats deliberately sponsored =
negative=20
marijuana research, time and time again Playboy magazine, NORML, High =
Times,=20
etc. had to sue under the new Freedom of Information Act to find out the =
actual=20
laboratory methodology these =E2=80=9Cexperiments=E2=80=9D employed.

After producing the Heath/Tulane University study, the so-called =
=E2=80=9CGreat=20
Communicator=E2=80=9D proclaimed, =E2=80=9CThe most reliable scientific =
sources say permanent=20
brain damage is one of the inevitable results of the use of =
marijuana.=E2=80=9D (L.A.=20
Times)

The report from Dr. Heath had concluded that Rhesus monkeys, smoking =
the=20
equivalent of only 30 joints a day, began to atrophy and die after 90 =
days.

And ever since, dead brain cells found in monkeys who were forced to =
smoke=20
marijuana has been given maximum scare play in federal booklets and =
government=20
sponsored propaganda literature against pot.

Senator Eastland of Mississippi used it throughout the mid-1970s to =
horrify=20
and stop national legislators from supporting NORML=E2=80=99s =
decriminalization bills in=20
Congress, mostly sponsored by the late Senator Jacob Javitts of New =
York.

Reports of the study have also been distributed by the hierarchy of =
drug=20
rehabilitation professionals as part of their rationalization for =
wanting to get=20
kids off pot, based on supposed scientific studies. It is used to =
terrorize=20
parent groups, church organizations, etc., who redistribute it still=20
further.

Heath killed the half-dead monkeys, opened their brains, counted the =
dead=20
brain cells, and then took control monkeys, who hadn=E2=80=99t smoked =
marijuana, killed=20
them too, and counted their brain cells. The pot smoking monkeys had =
enormous=20
amounts of dead brain cells as compared to the =
=E2=80=9Cstraight=E2=80=9D monkeys.

Ronald Reagan=E2=80=99s pronouncement was probably based on the fact =
that marijuana=20
smoking was the only difference in the two sets of monkeys. Perhaps =
Reagan=20
trusted the federal research to be real and correct. Perhaps he had =
other=20
motives.

Whatever their reasons, this is what the government ballyhooed to =
press and=20
PTA, who trusted the government completely.

In 1980, Playboy and NORML finally received for the first time after =
six=20
years of requests and suing the government an accurate accounting of the =
research procedures used in the infamous report:

When NORML/Playboy hired researchers to examine the reported results =
against=20
the actual methodology, they laughed.

The Facts:

Suffocation of Research=20
Animals

As reported in Playboy, the Heath =E2=80=9CVoodoo=E2=80=9D Research =
methodology involved=20
strapping Rhesus monkeys into a chair and pumping them with equivalent =
of 63=20
Colombian strength joints in =E2=80=9Cfive minutes, through gas =
masks,=E2=80=9D losing no smoke.=20
Playboy discovered that Heath had administered 63 joints in five minutes =
over=20
just three months instead of administering 30 joints per day over a =
one-year=20
period as he had first reported. Heath did this, it turned out, in order =
to=20
avoid having to pay an assistant=E2=80=99s wages every day for a full =
year.

The monkeys were suffocating! Three to five minutes of oxygen =
deprivation=20
causes brain damage =E2=80=9Cdead brain cells.=E2=80=9D (Red Cross =
Lifesaving and Water Safety=20
Manual) With the concentration of smoke used, the monkeys were a bit =
like a=20
person running the engine of a car in a locked garage for 5, 10, 15 =
minutes at a=20
time every day!

The Heath Monkey study was actually a study in animal asphyxiation =
and carbon=20
monoxide poisoning.

Among other things, Heath had completely (intentionally? =
incompetently?)=20
omitted discussion of the carbon monoxide the monkeys inhaled.

Carbon monoxide, a deadly gas that kills brain cells, is given off by =
any=20
burning object. At that smoke concentration, the monkeys were, in =
effect, like a=20
person locked in a garage with the car engine left running for five, 10, =
15=20
minutes at a time every day!

All subsequent researchers agree the findings in Heath=E2=80=99s =
experiment regarding=20
marijuana were of no value, because carbon monoxide poisoning and other =
factors=20
were totally left out and had not been considered in the report. This =
study and=20
others, like Dr. Gabriel Nahas=E2=80=99 1970s studies, tried to somehow =
connect the THC=20
metabolites routinely found in the fatty tissue of human brains, =
reproductive=20
organs, and other fatty areas of the body to the dead brain cells in the =
suffocated monkeys.

Now, in 1999, 17 years have passed and not a single word of Dr. =
Heath=E2=80=99s or=20
Dr. Nahas=E2=80=99 research has been verified! But their studies are =
still hauled out by=20
the Partnership for a Drug Free America, the Drug Enforcement =
Administration,=20
city and state narcotics bureaus, plus politicians and, in virtually all =
public=20
instances, held up as scientific proof of the dangers of marijuana.

This is U.S. government propaganda and disinformation at its worst! =
The=20
public paid for these studies and has the right to the correct =
information and=20
history being taught in our taxpayer sponsored schools.

In 1996, Gabriel Nahas, in France, sued Mishka, the translator of the =
French=20
edition of this book, =E2=80=9CL=E2=80=99Emperor est Nu!=E2=80=9D for =
damages. Mishka wrote that Nahas=E2=80=99=20
studies were viewed by the world as garbage. The French court, upon =
hearing all=20
the testimony by Nahas, and after Nahas had spent an equivalent of tens =
of=20
thousands of American dollars on legal fees, awarded him its highest =
insult: one=20
franc, the equivalent of approximately 15 cents American for damages, =
and no=20
legal fees!

Lingering THC =
Metabolites

The Hype:

It Stays in Your System for 30=20
Days

The government also claimed that since =E2=80=9CTHC =
metabolites=E2=80=9D stay in the body=E2=80=99s=20
fatty cells for up to 30 days after ingestion, just one joint was very=20
dangerous; inferring that the long range view of what these THC =
metabolites=20
eventually could do to the human race could not even be guessed and =
other=20
pseudo-scientific double-talk (e.g., phrases like: =E2=80=9Cmight =
be,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Ccould mean,=E2=80=9D=20
=E2=80=9Cpossibly,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Cperhaps,=E2=80=9D etc.)*

- Dr. Donald Tashkin, UCLA, M.D., for the last 29 years the U.S. =
government=E2=80=99s=20
and the world=E2=80=99s leading marijuana researcher on pulmonary =
functions; and

- Dr. Tod Mikuriya, M.D., former national administrator and grant =
distributor=20
of the U.S. government=E2=80=99s marijuana research programs in the late =
1960s.

In effect these doctors said that the active ingredients in THC are =
used-up=20
in the first or second pass through the liver. The leftover THC =
metabolites then=20
attach themselves, in a very normal way, to fatty deposits, for the body =
to=20
dispose of later, which is a safe and perfectly natural process.

Many chemicals from foods, herbs, and medicines do this same thing =
all the=20
time in your body. Most are not dangerous and THC metabolites show less =
toxic*=20
potential than virtually any known metabolic leftovers in your body!

* The U.S. government has also known since 1946 that the oral dose of =
cannabis required to kill a mouse is about 40,000 times the dose =
required to=20
produce typical symptoms of intoxication. (Mikuriya, Tod, Marijuana =
Medical=20
Papers, 1976; Loewe, Journal of Pharmacological and Experimental =
Therapeutics,=20
October, 1946.)

THC metabolites left in the body can be compared to the ash of a =
cigarette:=20
The inert ingredient left over after the active cannabinoids have been=20
metabolized by the body. These inert metabolites are what urinary =
analysis=20
studies show when taken to discharge military or factory or athletic =
personnel=20
for using, or being in the presence of cannabis within the last 30 =
days.

Lung Damage Studies

The Hype:

More Harmful Than =
Tobacco

According to the American Lung Association, cigarettes and tobacco =
smoking=20
related diseases kill more than 430,000 Americans every year. Fifty =
million=20
Americans smoke, and 3,000 teens start each day. The Berkeley =
carcinogenic tar=20
studies of the late 1970s concluded that =E2=80=9Cmarijuana is =
one-and-a-half times more=20
carcinogenic than tobacco.=E2=80=9D

The Fact:

Not One Documented Case of=20
Cancer

There are lung irritants involved in any smoke. Cannabis smoke causes =
mild=20
irritation to the large airways of the lungs. Symptoms disappear when =
smoking is=20
discontinued.

However, unlike tobacco smoke, cannabis smoke does not cause any =
changes in=20
the small airways, the area where tobacco smoke causes long term and =
permanent=20
damage. Additionally, a tobacco smoker will smoke 20 to 60 cigarettes a =
day,=20
while a heavy marijuana smoker may smoke five to seven joints a day, =
even less=20
when potent high-quality flower tops are available.

While tens of millions of Americans smoke pot regularly, cannabis has =
never=20
caused a known case of lung cancer as of December 1997, according to =
America=E2=80=99s=20
foremost lung expert, Dr. Donald Tashkin of UCLA. He considers the =
biggest=20
health risk to the lungs would be a person smoking 16 or more =
=E2=80=9Clarge=E2=80=9D spliffs a=20
day of leaf/bud because of the hypoxia of too much smoke and not enough=20
oxygen.

Tashkin feels there is no danger for anyone to worry about =
potentiating=20
emphysema =E2=80=9Cin any way=E2=80=9D by the use of marijuana totally =
the opposite of=20
tobacco.

Cannabis is a complex, highly evolved plant. There are some 400 =
compounds in=20
its smoke. Of these, 60 are presently known to have therapeutic =
value.

Cannabis may also be eaten, entirely avoiding the irritating effects =
of=20
smoke. However, four times more of the active ingredients of smoked =
cannabis are=20
absorbed by the human body than when the same amount is eaten. And the=20
prohibition inflated price of black market cannabis, combined with harsh =
penalties for cultivation, prevent most persons from being able to =
afford the=20
luxury of a less efficient, though healthier, means of ingestion.

Lab Studies Fail to Reflect the =
Real=20
World

Studies have proven that many of the carcinogens in cannabis can be =
removed=20
by using a water pipe system. Our government omitted this information =
and its=20
significance when speaking to the press. At the same time politicians =
outlawed=20
the sale of water pipes, labeling them =E2=80=9Cdrug =
paraphernalia.=E2=80=9D

How Rumors Get =
Started

In 1976, Dr. Tashkin, M.D., UCLA, sent a written report to Dr. =
Gabriel Nahas=20
at the Rheims, France, Conference on =E2=80=9CPotential Cannabis Medical =
Dangers.=E2=80=9D That=20
report became the most sensationalized story to come out of this =
negative world=20
conference on cannabis.

This surprised Tashkin, who had sent the report to the Rheims =
conference as=20
an afterthought.

What Tashkin reported to the Rheims conference was that only one of =
the 29=20
pulmonary areas of the human lung studied the large air passageway Did =
he find=20
marijuana to be more of an irritant (by 15 times) than tobacco. This =
figure is=20
insignificant, however, since Tashkin also notes that tobacco has almost =
no=20
effect on this area. Therefore, 15 times almost nothing is still almost =
nothing.=20
In any event, cannabis has a positive or neutral effect in most other =
areas of=20
the lung. (See Chapter 7, =E2=80=9CTherapeutic Uses of =
Cannabis.=E2=80=9D)

Afterwards in 1977, the U.S. government resumed funding for ongoing =
cannabis=20
pulmonary studies which it had cut two years earlier when Tashkin =
reported=20
encouraging therapeutic results with marijuana/lung studies. But now the =
government limited funding only to research to the large air =
passageway.

We have interviewed Dr. Tashkin dozens of times. In 1986 I asked him =
about an=20
article he was preparing for the New England Journal of Medicine, =
indicating=20
that cannabis smoke caused as many or more pre-cancerous lesions as =
tobacco in=20
=E2=80=9Cequal=E2=80=9D amounts.

Most people do not realize, nor are the media told, that any tissue=20
abnormality (abrasion, eruption, or even redness) is called a =
pre-cancerous=20
lesion. Unlike lesions caused by tobacco, the THC-related lesions =
contain no=20
radioactivity.

We asked Tashkin how many persons had gone on to get lung cancer in =
these or=20
any other studies of long-term cannabis-only smokers (Rastas, Coptics, =
etc.)

Sitting in his UCLA laboratory, Dr. Tashkin looked at me and said, =
=E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s=20
the strange part. So far no one we=E2=80=99ve studied has gone on to get =
lung=20
cancer.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CWas this reported to the press?=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CWell, it=E2=80=99s in the article,=E2=80=9D Dr. Tashkin =
said. =E2=80=9CBut no one in the press even=20
asked. They just assumed the worst.=E2=80=9D His answer to us was still =
that not one=20
single case of lung cancer in someone who only smoked cannabis has ever =
been=20
reported. It should be remembered that he and other doctors had =
predicted 20=20
years ago, their certainty that hundreds of thousands of marijuana =
smokers would=20
by now (1997) have developed lung cancer.

Another Fact:

Emphysema Sufferers =
Benefit

During a later interview, Tashkin congratulated me on the tip =
I=E2=80=99d given him=20
that marijuana used for emphysema produced good results among persons we =
knew.

He laughed at me originally, because he had presumed that marijuana=20
aggravated emphysema, but after reviewing his evidence found that, =
except in the=20
rarest of cases, marijuana was actually of great benefit to emphysema =
suffers=20
due to the opening and dilation of the bronchial passages.

And so the relief reported to us by cannabis smoking emphysema =
patients was=20
confirmed.

Marijuana smoke is not unique in its benefits to the lungs. Yerba =
Santa,=20
Colt=E2=80=99s foot, Horehound, and other herbs have traditionally been =
smoked to help=20
the lungs.

Tobacco and its associated dangers have so prejudiced persons against =
=E2=80=9Csmoking=E2=80=9D that most persons believe cannabis smoking to =
be as or more dangerous=20
than tobacco. With research banned, these public health and safety facts =
are not=20
readily available.

In December 1997, we asked Dr. Tashkin again, and he unequivocally =
stated=20
that =E2=80=9Cmarijuana does not cause or potentiate emphysema in any =
way.=E2=80=9D In addition,=20
there has not been one case of lung cancer ever attributed to smoking=20
cannabis.

. . . And So On

Most of the anti-marijuana literature we have examined does not cite =
as much=20
as one single source for us to review. Others only refer to DEA or NIDA. =
The few=20
studies we have been able to track down usually end up being anecdotal =
case=20
histories, artificial groupings of data, or otherwise lacking controls =
and never=20
replicated.

Reports of breast enlargement, obesity, addiction, and the like all =
remain=20
unsubstantiated, and are given little credence by the scientific =
community.=20
Other reports, like the temporary reduction in sperm count, are =
statistically=20
insignificant to the general public, yet get blown far out of proportion =
when=20
presented by the media. Still others, like the handful of throat tumors =
in the=20
Sacramento area and the high rate of injuries reported in a Baltimore =
trauma=20
unit are isolated clusters that run contrary to all other statistics and =
have=20
never been replicated.

The spurious results of Heath, Nahas, and the pregnant mice and =
monkey=20
studies at Temple University and UC Davis (where they injected mice with =
synthetic third-cousin analogues of THC) are now discredited in the body =
of=20
scientific and medical literature.

Though these studies are not used in scientific discourse, mountains =
of DEA=20
and pharmaceutical company-sponsored literature about the long-term =
possible=20
effects of these metabolites on the brain and reproduction still goes to =
parent=20
groups as if they were brand new studies. This disinformation is still =
very much=20
alive in U.S. government, DEA, DARE, and PDFA reports.

(Read the 1982 N.I.H.; the National Academy of Science=E2=80=99s =
evaluation on past=20
studies; and the Costa Rica report, 1980.) No Harm to Human Brain or=20
Intelligence Hemp has been used in virtually all societies since time =
immemorial=20
as a work motivator and to highlight and renew creative energies.

Nahas=E2=80=99 Prescription for Bloated Police Budgets

Incredibly, a famous study which found that cannabis reduces tumors =
(see=20
Chapter 7), was originally ordered by the Federal Government on the =
premise that=20
pot would hurt the immune system. This was based on the =E2=80=9CReefer =
Madness=E2=80=9D studies=20
done by the disreputable Dr. Gabriel Nahas of Columbia University in =
1972.

This is the same Dr. Nahas who claimed his studies showed pot created =
chromosome, testosterone (male hormone) damage, and countless other =
horrible=20
effects which suggested the breaking down of the immune system. =
Nahas=E2=80=99=20
background is in the OSS/CIA and later the U.S. where he worked closely =
with=20
Lyndon LaRouche and Kurt Waldheim.

In 1998, Nahas is still the darling favorite of the DEA and NIDA =
(National=20
Institute on Drug Abuse) yet no anti-marijuana studies of Nahas=E2=80=99 =
have every been=20
replicated in countless other research attempts. Columbia University=20
specifically disassociated itself from Nahas=E2=80=99 marijuana research =
in a specially=20
called press conference in 1975!

Old, discredited Nahas studies are still trotted out by the Drug =
Enforcement=20
Administration today and deliberately given to unknowledgeable =
parents=E2=80=99 groups,=20
churches, and PTAs as valid research regarding the evils of pot.

The dissemination of Nahas=E2=80=99* dangerous horror stories is paid =
for with your=20
tax dollars, even years after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in =
1976=20
specifically forbade Nahas from getting another penny of U.S. government =
money=20
for cannabis studies because of his embarrassing research in the early=20
1970s.

* Nahas, in December 1983, under ridicule from his peers and a =
funding=20
cut-off from NIDA renounced all his old THC metabolite build-up and =
unique=20
chromosome Petri dish tissue damage studies, conclusions, and=20
extrapolations.

Yet the DEA, NIDA, VISTA, the =E2=80=9CWar on Drugs,=E2=80=9D and =
now-deceased writer Peggy=20
Mann (in Reader=E2=80=99s Digest articles and her book Marijuana Alert, =
with foreword by=20
Nancy Reagan) have used these discredited studies on parents=E2=80=99 =
groups such as=20
Parents for a Drug Free Youth, etc., often with Nahas as a highly paid =
guest=20
lecturer, without a word of how his studies are really considered by =
this=20
peers.

This, we assume, is done to scare parents, teachers, legislators and =
judges,=20
using scientific terminology and bogus non-clinical statistics, =
ultimately aimed=20
at selling more urine-testing equipment. Therefore, more profits are =
created for=20
the drug-rehabilitation clinics and their staffs of professionals; and =
to=20
maintain funding for the DEA, local police, judicial, penal, corrections =
and=20
other government pork barrel, police state interests.

The =E2=80=9CWar on Drugs=E2=80=9D is big money, so the shameless =
petitioning for more police=20
and more jail cells continues. And we still have thousands of judges,=20
legislators, police, Reader=E2=80=99s Digest readers, and parents who =
have for years=20
used and cited Nahas=E2=80=99 studies in particular as the prime reasons =
to continue=20
these unjust laws and to jail millions of Americans over the last =
decade.

The DEA, after Nahas=E2=80=99 1983 waffling renouncement, consciously =
and criminally=20
continues to use his studies to polarize ignorant judges, politicians, =
press,=20
and parent groups, who are unaware of Nahas=E2=80=99 denouncement. These =
groups trust=20
the government to tell them the truth their tax dollars paid for. Most =
of the=20
media, press, and television commentators still use Nahas=E2=80=99 =
1970s, unreplicated=20
studies as gospel, and much of the frightening folklore and street myths =
that=20
are whispered around school yards spring from the deceitful =
=E2=80=9Cscientist=E2=80=99s=E2=80=9D=20
work.

Refuted and never replicated results are still taught, while the =
honest=20
researcher faces prison if he attempts to test any thoughts about the =
medical=20
use of cannabis.

In fact, using Nahas=E2=80=99 refuted and unreplicated synthetic THC =
Petri dish=20
studies on the immune system, hysterical Families for Drug Free Youth, =
or =E2=80=9CJust=20
Say No=E2=80=9D organizations have gotten the press to say marijuana =
could cause AIDS =E2=80=93=20
which has no basis whatsoever, but the press published all this rhetoric =
creating more Reefer Madness!

Gabriel Nahas, in 1998, is living in Paris and goes around Europe =
teaching as=20
gospel the same old lies to less informed Europeans. When asked to =
debate us=20
(H.E.M.P.) on cannabis before the world press on June 18, 1993 in Paris, =
he=20
first enthusiastically accepted until he found out that we would be =
speaking on=20
all aspects of the hemp plant (e.g. paper, fiber, fuel, medicine). Then =
he=20
declined, even though we met all of his requirements.

Radioactive Tobacco: The Untold =
Story

Tobacco smoking kills more persons each year than AIDS, heroin, =
crack,=20
cocaine, alcohol, car accidents, fire, and murder combined. Cigarette =
smoking is=20
as addictive as heroin, complete with withdrawal symptoms, and the =
percentage of=20
relapses (75%) is the same as for =E2=80=9Ckicking=E2=80=9D cocaine and =
heroin users.

It is far and away the number one cause of preventable death in the =
U.S.=20
today. Tobacco smokers have ten times the lung cancer of non-smokers, =
twice the=20
heart disease, and are three times more likely to die of heart disease =
if they=20
do develop it. Yet tobacco is totally legal, and even receives the =
highest U.S.=20
government farm subsidies of any agricultural product in America, all =
the while=20
being our biggest killer! What total hypocrisy!

In the U.S. one in seven deaths are caused by smoking cigarettes. =
Women=20
should know that lung cancer is more common than breast cancer in women =
who=20
smoke and that smoking on the pill increases cancer and heart risks=20
dramatically.

Seven million dollars a day promotes the tobacco business, and it is=20
estimated that the cigarette industry needs about 3,000 new smokers a =
day to=20
replace those who quit or die each day from smoking.

Kentucky=E2=80=99s principal business and agriculture for 100 years =
(until 1890) was=20
the healthful, versatile, and useful cannabis hemp. It has since been =
replaced=20
by non-edible, non-fibrous, soil-depleting tobacco, which is grown in =
soil=20
fertilized with radioactive materials.

U.S. government studies have show that a pack-and-a-half of tobacco=20
cigarettes per day over a year for just one year is the equivalent to =
your lungs=20
of what some 300 chest x-rays (using the old, pre-1980s slow x-ray film =
and=20
without using any lead protection) are to your skin. But while an x-ray=20
dissipates its radioactivity instantly, tobacco has a radioactive =
half-life that=20
will remain active in the lungs for 21.5 years.

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said on national television =
that=20
radioactivity contained in tobacco leaves is probably responsible for =
most=20
tobacco-related cancer. No radioactivity exists in cannabis tars.

In 1981, a study showed that 10 of American=E2=80=99s heaviest pot =
smokers (from the=20
Coptic religion and residing in Florida) actually believed that using 16 =
huge=20
high potency spliffs* a day had improved their minds somewhat over a =
period of=20
10 years.

They were studied by Drs. Ungerlieder and Shaeffer (UCLA) and who =
showed=20
absolutely no brain differences between them and non-smokers nor did it =
confirm=20
any increase in IQ that the Coptics had claimed.

* One spliff is generally equal to five average American joints.

Longer Life, Fewer =
Wrinkles

Most studies (matched populations, past and present) indicate that =
everything=20
else being equal an average American pot smoker will live longer than =
his=20
counterpart who does no drugs at all; with fewer wrinkles, and generally =
less=20
stress thereby having fewer illnesses to upset the immune system, and =
being a=20
more peaceful neighbor.

The Jamaican study, sponsored by the National Institute of Mental =
Health=20
(NIMH) Center for Studies of Narcotic and Drug Abuse, was the first =
project in=20
medical anthropology to be undertaken and is the first intensive,=20
multi-disciplinary study of marijuana use and users to be published.

From the Jamaican Study introduction: =E2=80=9CDespite its =
illegality, ganja use is=20
pervasive, and duration and frequency are very high; it is smoked over a =
longer=20
period in heavier quantities with greater THC potency than in the U.S. =
without=20
deleterious social or psychological consequences. The major difference =
is that=20
both use and expected behaviours are culturally conditioned and =
controlled by=20
well established tradition.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CNo impairment of =
physiological, sensory and=20
perceptual-motor performance, tests of concept formation, abstracting =
ability,=20
and cognitive style and test of memory.=E2=80=9D

Positive Social =
Attitudes

The study outlines the positive reinforcement given socially to ganja =
smokers=20
in Jamaica, the universal praise for the practice among users, who smoke =
it as a=20
work motivator.

Subjects described the effects of smoking making them =
=E2=80=9Cbrainier=E2=80=9D, lively,=20
merry, more responsible and conscious. They reported it was good for =
meditation=20
and concentration, and created a general sense of well-being and=20
self-assertiveness.

No Link to Criminal =
Behavior

Vera Rubin and her colleagues found no relation of cannabis to crime =
(except=20
marijuana busts), no impairment of motor skills, and smokers and =
non-smokers=20
alike had identical extroversion scores with no difference in work =
records or=20
adjustment. Heavy use of ganja was not found to curtail the motivation =
to=20
work.

From the psychological assessment the smokers seemed to be more open =
in their=20
expressions of feeling, somewhat more carefree, and somewhat more =
distractible.=20
There was no evidence of organic brain damage or schizophrenia.

No Physiological Deterioration

Marilyn Bowman, in a battery of psychological tests on chronic =
cannabis users=20
in Jamaica in 1972, found =E2=80=9Cno impairment of physiological, =
sensory and=20
perceptual-motor performance, tests of concept formation, abstracting =
ability=20
and cognitive style and tests of memory.=E2=80=9D These Jamaicans had =
smoked anywhere=20
from six to 31 years (16.6 mean average) and the average age at the =
first puff=20
was at 12 years and six months.

In the 1975 study between users and non-users, no difference was =
found in=20
plasma testosterone, no difference in total nutrition, slightly higher=20
performance on the intelligence sub-tests (not statistically =
significant), and=20
=E2=80=9Ca basic measure of cell-mediated immunity was no less vigorous =
in the=20
users.=E2=80=9D

Finally, =E2=80=9CUsers in our matched pair sample smoked marijuana =
in addition to as=20
many tobacco cigarettes as did their partners. Yet their airways were, =
if=20
anything, a bit healthier than their matches.=E2=80=9D

=E2=80=9CWe must tentatively conclude either that marijuana has no =
harmful effects on=20
such passages or that it actually offers some slight protection against =
the=20
harmful effects of tobacco smoke. Only further research will clarify =
which, if=20
either, is the case.=E2=80=9D

No =E2=80=9CStepping =
Stone=E2=80=9D/Gateway Effect

As to the stepping-stone or gateway drug charges leveled against =
cannabis:=20
=E2=80=9CThe use of hard drugs is as yet virtually unknown among working =
class Jamaicans=20
no one in the study (Rubin=E2=80=99s) had ever taken any narcotics, =
stimulants,=20
hallucinogens, barbiturates or sleeping pills.=E2=80=9D

In America during the late 1800s cannabis was used in treating =
addiction.=20
Opiate, chloral hydrate, and alcohol addicts were successfully treated =
with=20
potent cannabis extracts. Some patients recovered with less than a dozen =
doses=20
of cannabis extract.1 Likewise, smoking cannabis has been found to be =
valuable=20
in modern alcohol addiction treatment.2

Costa Rican Study =
(1980)

The Jamaican results were largely confirmed by another Caribbean =
study, the=20
1980 Cannabis in Costa Rica =E2=80=93 A Study in Chronic Marijuana Use =
edited by William=20
Carter for the Institute for Study of Human Issues. (ISHI, 3401 Science =
Center,=20
Philadelphia.)

Again researchers found no palpable damage to the native =
population=E2=80=99s chronic=20
cannabis smokers. Alcoholic social problems, so evident on neighboring=20
cannabis-free islands, are not found in Costa Rica.

This study makes clear that socially approved ganja use will largely =
replace=20
or mitigate the use of alcohol (rum) if available.

The Amsterdam Model

Since adopting a policy of tolerance and non-prosecution of =
cannabis/hashish=20
smokers (it is available in cafes and bars) and rehabilitation and =
diversion=20
programs for hard drug users, Holland has seen a substantial reduction =
in=20
cannabis consumption among teenagers and a 33% drop in the number of =
heroin=20
addicts. The strategy of separating cannabis sales from hard drug =
dealers by=20
bringing pot above-ground has been quite successful. (L.A. Times, August =
1989).=20
In 1998, despite constant pressure from the U.S. government and the DEA, =
the=20
Dutch government has totally refused to recriminalize marijuana!

Scientific American reported in 1990: =E2=80=9CThe alarming =
statistics, cited by=20
testing advocates, to demonstrate the high costs of drug abuse . . . do =
not=20
always accurately reflect the research on which they are based. In fact, =
some of=20
the data could be used to =E2=80=98prove=E2=80=99 that drug use has =
negligible or even=20
beneficial effects.=E2=80=9D (March 1990, page 18)

One of the examples given is the often cited statistic former =
president=20
George Bush utilized in 1989: =E2=80=9CDrug abuse among American workers =
costs=20
businesses anywhere from $60 billion to $100 billion a year in lost=20
productivity, absenteeism, drug-related accidents, medical claims and =
theft.=E2=80=9D=20
Yet according to a 1989 assessment by NIDA, all such claims derive from =
a single=20
study that grew out of a 1982 survey of 3,700 households.

The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) found that households where at =
least=20
one person admitted having used marijuana regularly reported average =
incomes 28%=20
lower than average reported income of otherwise similar households. RTI=20
researchers ascribed the income difference to =E2=80=9Closs due to =
marijuana use.=E2=80=9D

RTI then extrapolated costs of crime, health problems and accidents =
to arrive=20
at a =E2=80=9Ccost to society of drug abuse=E2=80=9D of $47 billion. The =
White House =E2=80=9Cadjusted=E2=80=9D=20
for inflation and population increases to provide the basis for =
Bush=E2=80=99s=20
statement.

Yet the RTI survey also included questions about current drug use. =
The=20
answers revealed no significant difference between income levels of =
households=20
with current users of illegal drugs, including cocaine and heroin, and =
other=20
households.

Thus the same statistics =E2=80=9Cprove=E2=80=9D that current use of =
hard drugs does not=20
result in any =E2=80=9Closs,=E2=80=9D in contrast to a single marijuana =
binge in the distant=20
past!

Official Corruption: Carlton Turner

In all the research this author has done about the misapplication of =
public=20
funds and trusts, nothing, it seems, compares with the either totally =
ignorant=20
or willful manslaughter of fellow Americans by the bureaucrats and =
politicians=20
of the following story:

One Man & His Drug =
Scams

The U.S. government policy, starting in the Nixon and Ford =
administrations=20
and continuing under Carlton Turner* (Drug Czar under Reagan 1981-1986), =
allowed=20
federal medical marijuana, supplied to the individual state marijuana =
medical=20
programs, to consist only of the leaf of the marijuana plant, even =
though it=E2=80=99s=20
usually only one-third as strong as the bud and doesn=E2=80=99t contain =
the same whole=20
spectrum of the =E2=80=9Ccrude drug,=E2=80=9D i.e. the THC and CBNs.

* Prior to becoming Special White Hose Advisor (read: National Drug =
Czar)=20
Carlton Turner, from 1971 to 1980, was the head of all U.S. government =
marijuana=20
grown for drugs by reason of his position at the University of =
Mississippi. The=20
U. of Mississippi Marijuana Research Program is directed by state =
charter to=20
discover initiate or sort out the constituents of THC a =
=E2=80=9Csimple=E2=80=9D crude cannabis=20
drug that works as a medicine then synthesize the substances with =
beneficial=20
medicinal properties to attain their full potential for pharmaceutical=20
companies.

For example, the leaf=E2=80=99s relief of ocular pressure for =
glaucoma patients is=20
much shorter lasting and therefore unsatisfactory, compared to the bud. =
Also,=20
the leaf sometimes gives smokers a headache. The federal government =
until 1986=20
used only the leaf. Turner said to the pharmaceutical companies in an =
interview,=20
that leaf is all Americans would ever get although the bud works better. =
Still=20
today in 1999, the seven legal marijuana users in the U.S. only get =
leaf,=20
branch, and bud chopped up and rolled together. Although buds work =
better for=20
chemotherapy, glaucoma, etc., the branches can be as toxic as smoking =
wood.

Turner said, in 1986, that natural marijuana will =
=E2=80=9Cnever=E2=80=9D be given as a=20
medicine and, as of April 1998, it still hasn=E2=80=99t. (Except in =
California, where=20
citizens successfully voted, in November 1996, to overrule the federal=20
government on medical marijuana!)

The Reasons Given:

- Buds are too hard to roll through a cigarette machine. (Forget the =
25=20
million Americans who do quite well at rolling bud everyday.)

- By extracting compounds from the =E2=80=9Ccrude drug=E2=80=9D of =
the bud, there would be no=20
pharmaceutical patents, therefore no profits. Therefore, his program =
would have=20
worked against his former employers, the Mississippi =
University=E2=80=99s legislative=20
charter and funding.

Although buds work better for chemotherapy, glaucoma, etc., Turner =
said they=20
will =E2=80=9Cnever=E2=80=9D be given. It also became evident the famous =
marijuana =E2=80=98munchies=E2=80=99=20
(appetite stimulation) were not working for the cancer chemotherapy =
patients=20
using federal leaf.

And even though no studies have been allowed to compare leaf with =
bud, we=20
know of doctors who unofficially recommended bud and watch their wasting =
cancer=20
patients put on weight (NORML).

Poisoning Pot =
Smokers

In August and September, 1983, Turner went on national television to =
justify=20
the illegal marijuana spraying (by plane) of paraquat in Georgia, =
Kentucky, and=20
Tennessee by the DEA. He said it would teach a lesson to any kid who =
died from=20
paraquat-poisoned pot. Turner was forced to resign after announcing his=20
conclusions in public that marijuana caused homosexuality, the breakdown =
of the=20
immune system, and, therefore, AIDS.

Looking into the therapeutic potential of cannabis is the most =
controlled and=20
discouraged research, but any tests pursuing negative or harmful effects =
of=20
cannabis are promoted. Since these tests often backfire or are =
inconclusive,=20
even this research is rare.

Turner quoted =E2=80=9CThe Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire=E2=80=9D =
to show how jazz (rock)=20
singers are eroding the America =E2=80=9Che=E2=80=9D loves with this =
hallucinogenic drug=20
marijuana! Which he meant to stamp out.

Phony Paraquat =
Kits

During the 1978 Mexican marijuana paraquat scare, and while still a =
private=20
citizen working for the state of Mississippi marijuana farm, this same =
Carlton=20
Turner called High Times magazine to advertise a paraquat tester. =
Unknown to=20
Turner, High Times was not accepting ads for any paraquat testers =
because all=20
evidence showed the testers didn=E2=80=99t work.

Dean Latimer then a High Times associate editor, strung Turner along =
in=20
virtually daily phone conversations for a month, listening to Turner =
talk about=20
how much money Turner was going to make from sales of the device.

High Times wanted to see a sample. When Turner delivered his =
prototype=20
version of the paraquat test kit to High Times, it was a total =
=E2=80=9CRube Goldberg=E2=80=9D=20
type rip-off, =E2=80=9Cjust like the dozen or so phony kits other =
companies tried to buy=20
ad space for at this time,=E2=80=9D wrote Latimer in an article =
published in 1984.

Turner apparently never thought High Times was ethical enough to =
check the=20
contraption out. He assumed they would just take the ad money and run =
print the=20
ad and make Turner rich.

He didn=E2=80=99t care if some kid died or was bilked out of money =
believing in his=20
bogus paraquat test kit.

After this attempted mail fraud, this man became President =
Reagan=E2=80=99s national=20
drug czar in 1981, recommended by George Bush and Nancy Reagan.

A Wanton Disregard for Life

Turner even said that he doesn=E2=80=99t even care if hundreds of =
kids die from=20
smoking pot the federal government has deliberately sprayed with =
paraquat.

Then at the April 25, 1985, PRIDE conference in Atlanta, Georgia, =
with Nancy=20
Reagan and 16 foreign First Ladies in attendance (including Imelda =
Marcos),=20
Turner called for the death penalty for drug dealers.

Turner was, after all, Reagan=E2=80=99s, Bush=E2=80=99s, and the =
pharmaceutical companies=E2=80=99=20
own hired gun, who saw his entire mission as not against heroin, PCP, or =
cocaine, but to wipe out pot and jazz/rock music.

Carlton Turner was forced to resign after Newsweek magazine =
excoriated him=20
October 27, 1986, in a large editorial sidebar. His resignation was a =
foregone=20
conclusion after being lampooned in the Washington Post and elsewhere as =
no=20
other public figure in recent memory for his conclusions (in public =
addresses)=20
that marijuana smoking caused homosexuality, the breakdown of the immune =
system,=20
and, therefore, AIDS.

He resigned December 16, 1986. What should have been front page =
headline news=20
was buried in the back pages during the Iran-contra scandal that =
exploded that=20
week.

Urine Testing =
Company

After his resignation, Turner joined with Robert DuPont and former =
head of=20
NIDA, Peter Bensinger, to corner the market on urine testing. They =
contracted as=20
advisors to 250 of the largest corporations to develop drug diversion,=20
detection, and urine testing programs.

Soon after Turner left office, Nancy Reagan recommended that no =
corporation=20
be permitted to do business with the Federal government without having a =
urine=20
purity policy in place to show their loyalty.

Just as G. Gordon Liddy went into high-tech corporate security after =
his=20
disgrace, Carlton Turner became a rich man in what has now become a huge =
growth=20
industry: urine-testing.

This kind of business denies the basic rights of privacy, =
self-incrimination=20
(Fifth Amendment) rights, unreasonable search and seizure, and the =
presumption=20
of innocence (until proven guilty).

Submission to the humiliation of having your most private body parts =
and=20
functions observed by a hired voyeur is now the test of eligibility for =
private=20
employment, or to contract for a living wage.

Turner=E2=80=99s new money-making scheme demands that all other =
Americans relinquish=20
their fundamental right to privacy and self-respect.

Bush Strikes Again

President Ronald Reagan, at the urging of then Vice President George =
Bush,=20
appointed Carlton Turner as the White House Drug (czar) Advisor in =
1981.

At conventions (1981-1986) of pharmaceutical companies and their =
lobbyist the=20
American Chemical Manufacturers, Turner promised to continue the =
research ban on=20
the 400 chemical compounds of cannabis.

Bush managed to continue to direct this effort, simply by not =
allowing any=20
grants for private or public research with a positive implication to be =
issued=20
by NIDA or NIH, or approved any recent FDA applications unless they =
pursued=20
negative results. As of this writing (July 1998) President =
Clinton=E2=80=99s policy has=20
remained the same.

Comparison to =
Alcohol

There are many terrible drug habits. The worst of which is alcohol, =
in both=20
numbers of users and the anti-social behavior associated with extreme =
use.=20
Alcoholism is the leading cause of teen-age deaths: 8,000 American =
teenagers are=20
killed each year and 40,000 are maimed from mixing alcohol and driving. =
(MADD,=20
Mothers against Drunk Driving; SADD, Students against Drunk Driving; =
NIDA,=20
National Institute on Drug Abuse, etc.)

In fact, U.S. government/police statistics confirm the following =
strange=20
numbers:

The mortality figure for alcohol use is 100,000 annually, compared =
with zero=20
marijuana deaths in 10,000 years of consumption.

From 40-50% of all murders and highway fatalities are alcohol =
related. In=20
fact, highway fatalities that are alcohol related might be as high as =
90%,=20
according to the Chicago Tribune and L.A. Times.

Alcohol is also indicated in the majority (69-80%) of all child =
rape/incest=20
cases; wife beating incidents are in great majority (60-80%) alcohol=20
influenced.

And there were more than 786,545 arrests for simple marijuana =
possession in=20
the U.S. in 2005 (up from 400,000 in 1992), according to the Uniform =
Crime=20
Reporting Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau =
of=20
Investigation.